Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Track & Harness Racing Museum Trip

 We took a trip to the horse track museum today with Maris' BFFS and they really had a good time. There were moments when they griped about it being boring, but that was during the movie clips that were outdated and I admit.. pretty boring. They loved looking at the mannequins and all the horse equipment though. I've already been here and I have read most of the signage so I didnt mind that they wanted to just blow through and explore. They gravitated to the more hands on stuff and learned things on their own... it was nice.
check out the track patron fashions... :) I want that dress!


 a Salvador Dali print - pretty cool!

this was a mock horse auction - they were happy to push buttons :)

the interactive kids section was a hit
 The kids got to put on helmets and jackets and pose like a real jockey. They looked so cute!


I am a good sport, but I wasn't getting on the cart in a dress haha

You'd think that the kids would like the talking horse. nope, they were ALL freaked out by it

Maris was drawing a horse


so THIS movie in particular cracked me up. It was a short on all the horse racing movies in Hollywood. It started with flip animation and then to silent films and "talkies" and television shows like Lucy (where one of the kids exclaimed "what the heck is this") and then to more modern*ish* movies... ending the film with a movie made in NINETEEN EIGHTY THREE... they need to update their film clips! haha


we went out on the deck to see the horses trotting


The 3d race simulator was a big hit - no pics... I was too busy enjoying watching their reactions :)


we took a walk down to the track and headed over to the grandstand to eat lunch


Everyone (even the Mommas) enjoyed sitting in the Grandstands watching the horses go by while eating lunch

they wanted to climb to the "tippy top"

then we hit BK as a surprise. 50 cent ice creams?! Yes please.


It was a great day! Then we came home and Jackson got a small lego stuck up his nose! Never a dull moment. It was a good 20 mins of fighting and trying to pin him down - even enlisting his sister's help in holding his arms and I STILL couldnt get it out. I finally got him to calm down enough to stop flailing and screaming... he sat on his step stool and I got it out with some tweezers. His fear of me taking him to have a doctor do it calmed him right down! What possesses a kid to stick things in their noses?! Maris never did that (well, to my knowledge.. she never got caught with anything stuck at least haha) Never a dull moment!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Fun Days and Bucket List Progress

 we have been trying to seize each day around here since the summer is coming closer and closer to an end. Banana milkshakes were made to help use up the bananas and leftover ice cream from the Hello Kitty Bash, we ran a ton of errands and cleaned the kids' room - making room for the new and also getting some stuff weeded out for the upcoming yard sale this weekend! Then the reward for the hard work was a surprise in the yard - I filled up the pool and got out the water guns.




 After reviewing the summer bucket list, I must say... not too shabby! The rest are bigger day trips and harder to accomplish but we will see!


Monday, August 20, 2012

Deep Thoughts Late at Night...

Going to begin this with a warning, its late and Icant sleep... I am writing as I think it so forgive the all over the place nature of my brain!

My first born sweet little girl is starting school in a little over 2 weeks... granted she has been in pre-preschool and preschool and a few enrichment classes and library program and ballet... but this is full blown actual all day every day SCHOOL. Kindergarten. Whoa. She just turned 5 a few days ago and I am getting my head wrapped around that one and now I have to grasp the idea of SCHOOOL. We got her welcome packet in the mail recently and I see that we live not even a mile away from the school yet she will be on the bus every morning for almost 40 mins JUST so she doesn't have to cross the road. The safety issue is a little out of hand, but I can see why. My road is atrocious with the horrible driving of the farmers/farm trucks... as well as a few blind turns. BAd combo. I am sure she will be fine, her 2 BFFS are on the same bus so they will probably not even mind the ride. I probably COULD drive her... but we will see how it all plays out.  She has her little heart
set on riding that damn bus... if she is still singing that same tune when the time comes, then so be it. the bus it is :) There is a small point or thought I wanted to share that needed this intro to explain...

Don't wish the time away...
The time really does go by fast with this kiddos. People always tell you to enjoy them while they are young and I am seeing how right they are. Too many times I've caught myself saying, I cant wait for THIS phase to be over... but even some of the bad ones, Ive missed when they were over.
So... I work a lot. Some people work more, I know.. but I DO work a lot. and sometimes I am tired and it shows. I find myself getting short with them when I wake up or I'm trying to do something for myself.. like *god forbid* take a shower or even pee without someone barging in, or hearing a crash or blood curdling scream... or just them following me with their "Mom Mom Mom...." *see included video to explain what I mean* bc they are happy to see me... and I snap to give me some time... but really when you think about it: this time is PRECIOUS. There will come a time when I will want them to talk to me or tell me about their day and they won't want to... or I will want a big kiss or hug and it won't be "cool"... I vowed to take personal note... don't wish the time away. There will be a time that I will have my own time and I will wish I had them all little and they still thought the world of me... I hope they always do, but they will grow up and need me less and less. I hate to think of how my negative thoughts of being overwhelmed by them at times rub off on them. .. the other day I even saw a PBS short on parenting... it showed a Mom lose her temper about getting distracted while making dinner and how getting mad/yelling affects your kids way of dealing with anger and other problems... and then cut to how she SHOULD have handled it... then I took a look at myself and felt like the worst parent ever...
stupid PBS thing making me feel worse about something I already hated about myself. :/  I sometimes see how what I say is carried on and thy are starting to say these things... (from Daddy too, not just Momma) I asked Maris to help me with something the other day and she said "I just want to do ONE THING for myself" and I was like... ooops maybe I said that ONE too many times... I began to wonder if I am to blame for Jackson's inability to handle his emotions most of the time... he is a little clone of me really. He hates crowds and gets very inward and emotional. I must say, I am pretty great with keeping a cool head with him and his fits most of the time, but after months I found myself talking down to him or losing my patience and yelling back... he is getting better but still...I need to work on myself.
There are nights when I count down the time until I leave for work just to get some peace and quiet and some "me" time as in I don't have to be "mom mom mom"-ed to death... and those sweet babies STILL insist on standing at the door and waving goodbye - even in the middle of a brawl, they will still stop to wave to me... then I feel bad for wanting to get away so badly... they always ask me when my nights off are and look forward to them. I know that things seem so much worse in the moment... and I still every night when I get home go into their room and look at their peaceful little faces and smile. Being a parent entails so much sacrifice of yourself and is also the greatest feeling simultaneously...

I think it is the reality of her growing away from me that is provoking this... I see her going off to school as the beginning. I WANT her to go to school, she wants to go to school... it is completely normal... I just know that I am going to blink and she will be in middle school, then turn around and I will be at her graduation... then looking at colleges... I sound so dramatic... haha but its late a t night and I had some time to think and I needed to gain some perspective....

I need to work on my patience with them and how I react and speak to them. My daughter acts to mature and wise beyond her years at times... like 5 going on 17... the sass and wit that comes out of that one... phew! and the little guy, he needs a stable role model to see how he needs to handle his emotions. He has an emotional Mom and a Dad with a mouth and temper and he seems to be inheriting the worst of both of us at times. I have to steady myself. Sometimes I am strict with things but if I am tired from work or whatever, I may let certain things slide and that just doesn't set any stability...that being said, I KNOW I am a good mother. If anything, I am so tired because I try to take on so much. I have done something just about every day this summer with these kiddos. I want them to experience as much as possible so they can grow into well rounded cultured individuals that can think for themselves and have their own opinions on things instead of people saying, you never did this, but you don;t want to... or something like that. They can say they DID instead of they wish they did... if that makes any sense to anyone but me... after this summer, our lives will change. We won't have the "free" schedule
 that we are used to. Our lives will be dictated by the schedules of the schools. This is normal I know, im just saying I want to do as much as I can before there are restraints on our time. I also have decided tonight to take more time off of work starting soon. I want to work maybe 4 nights a week instead of 5 or 6 like usual. I had 3 nights off in a row and you'd think these kids won the lottery when I told them. They just love having all 4 of us together as it barely ever happens for more than a half hour at a time most days.

so time... patience... stability...




I have some wonderful kids










The Hello Kitty Peace Sign Extravaganza

                                 icing the cupcakes and cake the night before



the food! a special thanks to my Mom and Mom in law for helping me out with all this delicious food! We had lumpia! and chicken skewers ...I got farm fresh corn picked probably that day or close to it from the farm we live on and I made corn dogs (her specific request) and I dyed noodles pink and purple and put a butter sauce on them. We had a ziti dish and my mom had the kids help her roll meatballs in the crockpot. everything was so good. My friend Mel made a delicious salsa with chips to share as well.
 tattoo mommas haha
 the pinata I made lasted a bit longer this year but I have yet to perfect it... I think if I had fastened it better along the top, it would have lasted longer this time. The problem was, the 4th or 5th kid to hit it got it right in the top by the string and it hit the ground and broke. The kids that didnt get a turn didn't seem too upset though., They all just went at the candy :)
      I found the cutest little viewfinder Hello Kitty cameras for the goodie bags... and peace sign hair ties.. most of the kids will be starting school soon, so I made sure I got pencils and a sharpener as well. I scored the bubbles super cheap and what kid doesn't like bubbles?!
 funny story about the adult thank you gifts things... I spend a few hours making these bad boys and FORGOT to give them out... laaaame... I cant really mail them bc its summer and they will melt. so I have been handing them out to my guests as I see them.


                     pin the bow on Hello Kitty game that I made
 my friend Melissa helped out and gave all the kids tattoos. what a big help! by the end of the party, Maris' arms were filled with them.. haha





 goofing with the future bro in law :) he's fun :)
 she got the Ds she so badly wanted from Grandma and Grampa
 and the LalaLoopsy set she wanted from the other Grandma and Grandpa

                                                         my babies!




we saw a hot air balloon and a crop duster right from our yard at the end of the party. The kids were dancing in the late sun and it was so cute.


the end of a perfect day :)